Day 7 - St. Louis, MO - Conclusion

After the kids go to bed, I am on my own until they need me the next morning.

If there is someone in town that I know, I want to see them.

I had the chance to connect with friends in Denver and now I was going to get to connect with my friend in St. Louis.

It's been a few months since I've seen her and I missed her on her last visit to Orange County. She sends me directions to her place and I head on over.

I'm liking visiting my friends in other cities. I may have to do this more often.

She introduces me to some of her friends and family who are over.

I get introduced as her friend from Anaheim. Her brother starts to look at me like I personally signed Albert to his contract with the Angels.

It's a friendly Friday night conversation over Bud Lights in the backyard.

And then I start seeing things that make me think I might be having a stroke.

Little flashes of light in the corners of vision. Gone before I can focus in on them.

"Are those fireflies?" I ask.

"You mean the lightening bugs? Yep, that's exactly what they are. You can catch one in a jar if you want."

The only time I've seen something like this is on Pirates of the Carribean.

This is summer in Missouri and it is beautiful.

The group of friends break up and my friend and I go to her neighborhood bar. She warns me that it is kind of like her "Cheers," everybody is going to know her name.

She wasn't lying.

We get a pitcher of beer and I watch as she reconnects with all of her friends.

It is Kareoke Night and most people performing are doing really well.

After killing the pitcher, we head over to her Mom's house. It has been a few years since she met me a single time but she's heard the story of The Bucket Trip and wants to help in any way she can.

We sit in their backyard chatting for a couple of hours with her Mom and Aunt. I switch to Diet Coke but accidently crack open my friends beer because it looked like a Coke Zero.

I share The Bucket Trip story to date. I'm able to tell it without getting emotional. Without breaking down and crying.

I'm getting better at holding it together.

The conversation goes off of my situation and moves on to other topics. It's nice not to have to talk about.

Before I know it, it gets really late. I'm not going to get much sleep tonight.

But that's okay, there's always time to sleep.

Once the Bucket Trip is over.